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Adopting the mindset for business success

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13th Aug 2010
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Neil Twogood explains how to develop the right mindset and engage your staff to enhance business performance.

Is there really a link between the mindset of the top team and business performance? Yes there is, according to Harvard Business School.

In a study of the recession strategies, and post-recession performance, of 4,700 organisations, a Harvard research team found that not all companies follow the same strategy in a recession. They identified four different categories of company, each of which achieved different levels of success.
As well as shedding light on how best to survive a recession and get ahead in a slow-growth recovery, this study made an intriguing discovery: it is the mindset of the executive team that determines which of these four categories your company will fall into.
Essentially, you - and your managers - will either be moving 'towards' something in your business (goals, such as achievement, advancement, growth) or steering 'away from' something (striving to avoid bad outcomes). Either way, your thinking has a significant impact on how successful your company will be.
The four types of company identified in the Harvard study are:
i) Prevention-focused companies - When a recession hits, they go into crisis mode, cutting costs and investment.
ii) Promotion-focused companies - These companies see a recession as the ideal time to drive through change. They invest in marketing and product development and buy assets at rock bottom prices.
iii) Pragmatic companies - These are companies that combine the above two approaches: they'll cut some areas of the business and invest in others.
iv) Progressive companies - This last group deploy an 'optimal mix' of defensive and offensive strategies. They reduce costs selectively by improving operational efficiency (rather than by slashing the number of employees) and they develop new business opportunities by making significantly greater investments than their rivals, in R&D, marketing and in assets such as plant and machinery. When the recovery comes, they benefit from having motivated, loyal employees - who appreciate the fact that the firm invested in them during the tough times - and a more efficient operation. This multipronged strategy is heralded as the best antidote to a recession.
Which of these groups would your company be in?
 
A question of engagement
A key factor in the post-recession performance of a business is how employees feel about working for your business. So, how can you tell if your people are engaged and motivated to perform?
According to the research company Gallup - which conducted in-depth interviews with 80,000 managers - the answer lies in asking 12 questions. The employees who are able to answer these questions positively are much more likely to work in teams or units that achieve high performance in terms of their productivity, profitability, retention and customer service.
The 12 questions are:
  1. Do I know what is expected of me?
  2. Do I have the right materials, equipment and resources that I need to do my job?
  3. Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
  4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?
  5. Does someone at work seem to care about me as a person?
  6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
  7. At work, do my opinions count?
  8. Does the mission of my company make me feel my job is worthwhile?
  9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
  10. Do I have a best friend at work?
  11. In the last six months, has someone talked to me about my progress?
  12. In the last year, have I had the opportunities at work to learn and grow?
These questions will reveal whether people feel they can be successful in your company and whether or not they are appreciated. How many of your team would answer 'yes' to all of these questions?
The mindset for success
The Gallup research shows that the manager is one of the most significant influencers on an employee's performance. In fact, the whole mantra that 'people leave their manager, not their organisation' comes from this research study.
A key issue for any manager is what can you do to help your employees enjoy their work more and be more effective. Much of what happens in an organisation will be beyond your direct control. But one thing that's within your sphere of influence is your own behaviour.
Enhancing your self-awareness is always a good place to start. You'll be a better manager if you're more aware of how you feel and of how people around you feel. You also need to keep yourself positive and optimistic, as your 'mood' will permeate throughout the team. You need to be able to manage staff well, deal successfully with ambiguity, cut costs decisively when necessary and be both tactical and strategic. Try to create the right climate for your staff by setting the vision and making people feel valued and emotionally secure.
Drivers of high performance
The world's most successful people have a sense of achievement, a sense of enjoyment, a sense of learning and a sense of meaning and purpose in what they do. These are the four intrinsic drivers of high performance.
You can use these four drivers as a model for performance appraisals. They can help you to have a conversation to uncover what's important for each member of your team. For example, ask each person: on a scale of one to 10, how would you rate your level of enjoyment at work?; what could be done to improve that rating?; what am I doing as your manager that helps your enjoyment?; what do I do that gets in the way?
By developing the right mindset, enhancing your self-awareness, engaging your team and removing the obstacles to their performance, you can vastly improve your company's chances of achieving lasting business success.
Neil Twogood is chief operating officer at Performance Consultants, the coaching and leadership development specialist. 
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